Hadow (1933)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Analysis, Preface, Introduction
Chapter 1 History of the development of infant education
Chapter 2 Physical development of children up to 7
Chapter 3 Mental development of children up to 7
Chapter 4 Age limits and organisation of the infant stage
Chapter 5 Medical supervision, education and training of under 5s
Chapter 6 Training and teaching of children in infant and nursery schools
Chapter 7 Staffing of infant and nursery schools, training of teachers
Chapter 8 Premises and equipment of infant and nursery schools
Chapter 9 Summary of principal conclusions and recommendations
Appendix I List of witnesses
Appendix II Anatomical and physiological characteristics of 2-7 year olds (Harris)
Appendix III Emotional development of children up to seven plus (Burt and Isaacs)
Appendix IV Notes on typical nursery schools and classes
Appendix V Manchester's student nurse scheme for 'helpers'
Appendix VI Practice in Europe and US
Index

London: HM Stationery Office

Appendix VI
[pages 267 - 272]

NOTES ON THE PROVISION FOR THE PRELIMINARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF OBLIGATORY ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL IN CERTAIN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, AND IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AUSTRIA - PROVISION FOR PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION IN VIENNA

The age for compulsory attendance at school is 6.

Since 1919 the City Council of Vienna has greatly developed the provision of municipal kindergartens for children below the age of six. Whereas in 1913 there were only 25 such kindergartens, there are now 111. These municipal kindergartens are almost wholly financed by the municipality, which spent on them, in 1931, 7,014,000 schillings. The state does not make any contribution towards their upkeep. The only other source of income is small fees paid by the parents of children who are in a position to do so, viz:

50 groschen per week for attendance;
66 groschen per week for breakfast;
3 schillings and 12 groschen for dinner.

The City Council of Vienna has contributed towards the cost of erecting a kindergarten under the auspices of the Montessori Society called the Children's House (Haus der Kinder), and also makes an annual contribution towards its upkeep.

There are a large number of private kindergartens maintained and financed by Roman Catholic and Jewish organisations. (1)

BELGIUM

The age for obligatory attendance at school is six years. There are, however, a large number of schools of the kindergarten type (ecoles gardiennes or jardins d'enfants) for children between the ages of three and six. Such schools are established either by the local authorities, in which case the state pays one third of the cost of the buildings, or by private effort. The vast majority of schools of this type established by private effort are attached to girls' schools maintained by various Roman Catholic orders and congregations for women. As a matter of principle, the total cost of maintaining these schools falls on the organisers, i.e. local public authorities, or private groups. The state, however, in practice defrays a large part of the cost by making grants for salaries to all schools of this type that meet certain prescribed requirements in respect of qualifications of teaching staff, suitability of the buildings, etc. Furthermore, inasmuch as the local authorities defray the greater part of the cost of educational material given for the use of the children, the organisers of such schools are in fact only required to meet the cost of internal equipment. All these kindergarten schools are subject to state inspection.

In 1930 the total number of ecoles gardiennes inspected by the state was 3,928, accommodating 248,936 children. Of these, 1,424 (with 76,940 pupils) were communal; 1,272 (with 99,103 pupils) were ecoles adoptees (i.e. schools maintained by the local education authority); 1,232 (with 72,893 pupils) were ecoles adoptables (i.e. private schools not at present maintained by the local education authority). (2)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

The age for obligatory attendance at school is six. A considerable number of kindergartens and nursery schools are available in towns and larger villages for children whose parents desire to send them to school on a voluntary basis from the age of three onwards. Many of these kindergartens are maintained by the state, but some of those in the towns are supported by the local authorities or by voluntary private organisations. For instance, the Prague City Council, which established the first kindergarten in Bohemia in 1869, now maintains 101 kindergartens (with 8,591 children in attendance), staffed by 372 teachers and helpers.

These kindergartens do not constitute an integral part of the state system of primary education, though they are all inspected by the district inspectors for primary schools. Provision is made for the training of kindergarten teachers in 14 special training colleges. The activities and courses of study in the kindergartens, which do not include the 3Rs, are largely based on the principles outlined in Comenius, School of Infancy (1633).

In the school year 1932-33 there were in Czechoslovakia 2,236 kindergartens and 535 other institutions, largely of the creche type for young children. Of these, 919 kindergartens were maintained by the state, 939 kindergartens were maintained by city and urban councils, and there were also 13 practising kindergartens attached to training colleges. The remaining institutions of this type were maintained by voluntary organisations. During the school year 1932-33 there were in these kindergartens and other institutions of this type 108,524 children. The staff consisted of 3,317 trained kindergarten teachers, and 2,484 nurses, janitors, helpers, etc. (3)

FRANCE

The age of obligatory attendance at school is six, but considerable numbers of children are admitted to the preparatory sections of the primary schools at the age of five. Special provision is made for children below the age of six or five, either in separate schools called ecoles maternelles, (4) or in classes enfantines attached to the primary schools. No fees are charged in these schools and classes. The cost of the buildings for ecoles maternelles and classes enfantines is defrayed partly by the state, partly by the department, and partly by the commune. Since 1923 the state has assumed responsibility for the whole cost of the salaries of teachers in these schools and classes and for other expenses. There are a large number of private ecoles maternelles which are mostly conducted by religious orders and congregations for women, and are wholly maintained by voluntary contributions. According to the latest available statistics (Annuaire statistique, quarante-septieme volume 1931, Paris, 1932, pp. 30-31) there were, in 1930, 3,673 ecoles maternelles, of which 3,170 were state schools and 503 private schools. The total number of children on the registers of ecoles maternelles in 1930 was 373,329. Of these, 343,088 were in state schools and 30,241 in private schools. The total number of children in attendance at ecoles maternelles in 1930 was 276,140, of whom 252,010 were in state schools and 24,130 in private schools. (5)

GERMANY (Deutsches Reich) (6)

The age of compulsory attendance at school is six in most of the states of the Reich. The kindergartens in the various states are still for the most part private institutions, generally denominational, which are assisted out of public funds. The larger towns, e.g. Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfurt, and the Free City of Hamburg, are gradually beginning to recognise the significance of this important branch of education as a whole. It would seem, however, that the municipal authorities have not yet made up their minds whether to regard it as a part of child welfare work and to place it under the child welfare committee, or to treat it as a preparation for the primary school and to place it under the education committee. The Saxon School Law of 1919 contains a clause providing for attendance at kindergartens in cases where parents for economic and moral reasons are unable to discharge their duty to educate their children, but owing to financial difficulties this provision has remained inoperative. In most towns the cost of providing and maintaining institutions of the kindergarten type has up to the present been defrayed by (a) voluntary contributions of various independent benevolent organisations; (b) small fees paid by most of the parents; (c) municipal grants in aid. For example, the city of Berlin paid in 1931 60 per cent of the staffing expenses in the kindergartens. The amount of the contribution made by the municipalities towards the cost varies greatly. In the city of Hamburg the state (i.e. the Senate of the Free City) defrays the whole cost of maintenance. In most towns the municipality pays a certain percentage of the cost, as in the case of Berlin quoted above. In some cities a municipal contribution is made each year on a formal application from the bodies or persons conducting the kindergartens. On the whole, it may be said that there is a tendency for the provision of pre-school education and training to be regarded more and more in the towns as a legitimate charge on municipal funds, but not on state funds (except in the Free Cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck).

According to the official statistics for 1930, there were 7,282 kindergartens in the Reich, affording accommodation for 421,955 children. Of these, 1,865, providing accommodation for 101,485 children, were public (i.e. municipal) institutions; the remaining 5,417 kindergartens, accommodating 320,470 children, were maintained by voluntary effort. In the city of Berlin there were in December, 1931, 277 kindergartens, of which 50 were public institutions. At Munich in 1931 there were 49 municipal kindergartens with 86 divisions (sections). In the Free City of Hamburg there were, in 1930, 28 day rooms (Tagesheime) and 14 kindergartens.

NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND)

The administration of education in the Netherlands is very decentralised, and is almost wholly vested in the local school boards, the town councils, and private societies, denominational and philanthropic. A large proportion of the existing schools are denominational. The central Ministry of Education merely administers grants and pays for the schools, whether public or sectarian, provided that they satisfy certain requirements in respect of staffing, curriculum and buildings. If the local school board or town council does not regard the state grant as sufficient, and desires to improve the condition of its schools, it is free to do so, but must itself bear the further cost. School attendance was made compulsory in 1900, and since then every Dutch child must attend an elementary school for seven years, or up to the age of thirteen. Until recently the state paid little attention to kindergartens for children of pre-school age, which were popularly known as minding schools (Bewaarscholen, from bewaren, meaning to keep, to store). The teachers in these schools were not trained and were badly paid. During the last 50 years, conditions have greatly improved; training colleges for kindergarten teachers have been opened, and influential social organisations have stressed the importance of the pre-school stage. As a result, modern kindergartens have been founded all over the Netherlands either by the municipal councils or by private associations, and the salaries of the teachers have been raised. The kindergartens are inspected by five women inspectors appointed by the state. It was proposed some years ago in parliament to organise a system of kindergartens throughout the country for children under the age of obligatory attendance (i.e. seven) but up to the present no measure on these lines has been passed, and in existing economic conditions it seems highly improbable that anything will be done by the state in the near future.

The cost of maintaining kindergartens provided by the municipalities (openbare scholen) is wholly met by the municipal councils. Kindergartens provided by denominational and philanthropic societies (bijzondere scholen) are financed by the societies in question. There were in 1930, 288 municipal kindergartens (with 39,043 pupils), and 1,562 kindergartens maintained by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and other societies, with 139,644 pupils. (7)

SWEDEN

Children are normally required to begin attending the primary school in the autumn term of the calendar year in which they attain their seventh birthday. The age for compulsory attendance thus ranges from six years and eight months to seven years and eight months in the great majority of school districts. In a few school districts the age for compulsory attendance at school may vary from six years to six years and eleven months. There is no public educational provision for children under the age of obligatory attendance. Kindergarten classes for children of the age of five and upwards exist in a certain number of private schools. Such private schools form an integral part of the public system of education, but receive no grant from the state in respect of such kindergarten classes.

SWITZERLAND

In 13 cantons compulsory attendance at school begins at the age of six; in 12 cantons it begins at the age of seven.

In all the cantons, except two, attendance at infant schools up to the age of six or seven, according to the canton, is wholly voluntary. The canton of Neuchatel makes attendance compulsory for all children who attain the age of six during the school year. The canton of Geneva has a lower division of the infant school for children between the ages of three and six, and another division for children between the ages of six and seven, at which attendance is obligatory. In these two cantons the kindergarten, which teaches the 3Rs, forms part of the cantonal school organisation. The cantons of Zurich, Basel City, Tessino and Aargau, have three year infant schools organised and aided by the canton. In the remaining cantons, infant schools are the concern of the communes, or of private organisations which are largely denominational. Children are usually admitted to these infant schools at the age of three.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The age for compulsory attendance at school is six years in two states out of the 48 states of the Union; seven years in 29 states; eight years in 17 states; and nine years in one state. Despite these variations in state requirements, there is more uniformity in the ordinary requirements in respect of school age in urban areas, where the normal age of entrance to the public (common) school is usually six years.

Provision for pre-school education. Excluding the day nurseries, which fall outside our purview, the two main types of pre-school institution are: (i) the kindergartens and kindergarten classes; and (ii) the nursery schools.

Kindergartens and kindergarten classes. Kindergartens, which were originally based on ideas deriving from Comenius, Rousseau and Froebel, were first established in the United States about 1855, as private institutions, but they are now for the most part under public control, being organised as kindergarten classes attached to the public (common) schools in the larger towns. St Louis was the first great city to establish a system of kindergarten classes attached to the public (common) schools and financed by the municipality, and a large number of cities, mostly places with over 100,000 inhabitants, have adopted similar arrangements. It is exceedingly difficult to obtain detailed information, but it is broadly true to say that in most large cities and in a few states at least one year of kindergarten education for children between the ages of four and six is regularly provided as part of the public school system and paid for out of municipal funds. There were in 1930, 723,443 children in public kindergartens. In 1928 there were 54,456 children in private kindergartens. (8)

Nursery school kindergartens. Such nursery school kindergartens as exist, are mostly attached to academic institutions or teachers' colleges, and are maintained by tuition fees, private funds, universities, or teachers' colleges.

Nursery schools. Nursery schools, on the model of the McMillan School at Deptford, were established in considerable numbers in the United States after the close of the Great War, not as part of the public provision for education, but rather as institutions for educational research regarding the general development, habits, and needs of young children. There were 262 nursery schools in 1930; (9) many of them are attached to teachers' colleges or to the educational departments of universities, or are organised as private research institutions, like the Merrill-Palmer School at Detroit. They are attended for the most part by the children of parents in fairly comfortable circumstances. The children of poor parents requiring assistance are as a rule accommodated in day nurseries. These nursery schools are supported by tuition fees, private funds, universities or teachers' colleges, subscriptions, public charitable funds, and educational foundations.

It is broadly true that in the United States at the present time the provision of educational facilities for children under the age of obligatory attendance at school is not generally regarded as a charge on state funds (though in a few states kindergarten classes are provided as part of the public school system). On the other hand, in the large cities, the provision of kindergarten classes is coming more and more to be regarded as a legitimate charge on municipal funds.

Footnotes

(1) P Frankowski and K Gottlieb Die Kindergarten der Germeinde Wien (1927), passim, and data supplied to the Secretary of the Committee by the Oesterreichischer Verband fur Wohungsreform, Vienna.

(2) Annuaire statistique de la Belgique et du Congo Beige, 1931-1932, p. 77.

(3) From a memorandum and other data sent to the Secretary of the Committee by Dr E Lippert, of the Ministry of Education, Prague.

(4) Before 1881 these schools were called salles d'asile. See the article on L'ecole Maternelle Francaise by Madame Petit-Dutaillis in Compte Rendu du Congres International De L'Enfance, Paris (1931), pp. 229-235.

(5) From memoranda, etc., sent to the Secretary to the Committee by Madame A. Coirault, Inspectrice-Generale de l'Instruction Publique, Paris.

(6) The data relating to Kindergartens, etc., in the states of the Reich were collected in 1932.

(7) Central Bureau voor de Statistiek. Afdeeling Onderwijsstatistiek Mededeeling No. 5 (27 February 1932); and other data sent to the Secretary to the Consultative Committee by Heer HW Methorst, Director General of Statistics, at the Hague, and Heer PA Diels, Editor of Paedagogische Studien, Amsterdam.

(8) Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1928-1930. Bulletin, 1931, No. 20 of United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education, pp. 4-5.

(9) Nursery Schools, by Mary Dabney Davis. Bulletin, 1932; No. 9 of United states Department of the Interior Office of Education p.1.